Aspects of the present disclosure are related to digital display devices and base stations such as small cell base stations, which may include at least one antenna and a radio. More specifically, digital display devices are being increasingly deployed in airports, along roads and highways, in shopping malls, in rural or highly urban areas where additional cellular coverage is desirable. These digital display devices provide desirable mounting locations for cellular equipment because they are already powered. One or more components of the base station may be concealed from view by a concealment device to satisfy aesthetic or design requirements. In some aspects, this concealment device may be a fabric radome. In some aspects, the concealment device may be the digital display device itself, because the digital display device is dimensioned such that at least some components of the base station may be hidden behind or within the digital display device.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. An apparatus comprising: a cellular small cell base station comprising at least one antenna, a radio, and a communication link from the radio to a baseband unit that is configured to communicate via a baseband network, wherein the cellular small cell base station is configured to provide cellular service within a distance of the cellular small cell base station; and a fabric radome configured to attach to the cellular small cell base station such that the fabric radome conceals from view the at least one antenna, the radio, and a portion of the communication link, wherein the cellular small cell base station is configured to mount to a top surface of a housing of a digital display device and comprising a digital display.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one antenna comprises a plurality of antennas arranged to provide a quasi-omni directional antenna beam in an azimuth plane.
3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of antennas comprises a first antenna, a second antenna, and a third antenna.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one antenna comprises a motorized vertical pole, wherein the motorized vertical pole is configured to rotate about a longitudinal axis of the motorized vertical pole, and wherein the fabric radome is configured to attach to the cellular small cell base station such that the fabric radome conceals from view the motorized vertical pole.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the fabric radome is configured to detach from the cellular small cell base station without removing the cellular small cell base station from the housing.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the digital display device is configured to provide pass-through power to the cellular small cell base station.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the cellular small cell base station further comprises a Global Positioning System (GPS) module.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the radio comprises a first radio and a second radio, and wherein the at least one antenna comprises a first antenna coupled to the first radio and a second antenna coupled to the second radio, and wherein the first antenna and the second antenna are arranged to provide back-to-back sectorial coverage in an azimuth plane.
9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the baseband unit comprises a microwave backhaul antenna and wherein the baseband network comprises a microwave network.
10. An apparatus comprising: a digital display device comprising a housing and a digital display at least two feet in a first dimension positioned within the housing; and a cellular small cell base station comprising a plurality of antennas, a radio, and a communication link to a backhaul network, wherein the cellular small cell base station is configured to provide cellular service within a distance of the cellular small cell base station; wherein the cellular small cell base station is configured to mount to a top surface of the housing; wherein the cellular small cell base station comprises a fabric radome that surrounds the plurality of antennas, the radio, and a portion of the communication link such that the plurality of antennas and the radio are concealed from view when the cellular small cell base station is mounted to the top surface of the housing, wherein the plurality of antennas are arranged to provide a quasi-omni directional antenna beam in an azimuth plane, and wherein the digital display device is configured to provide pass-through power to the cellular small cell base station.
11. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the communication link comprises an optical fiber.
12. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the fabric radome is configured to attach to the cellular small cell base station such that the fabric radome conceals from view the microwave backhaul antenna.
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March 27, 2017
August 18, 2020
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